This wasn’t just a video game; it was an experience and the retort to any fool who claims that video games cannot be art, because that’s all Journey was. I’ve upheld the claim of games as an art medium for at least two decades. Art is anything that evokes an emotional response; therefore, art can be anything. Of course there are things that evoke emotional responses that aren’t considered art. A particular door may cause an emotional response in a particular individual due to history fair or foul, and this portal if plain wouldn’t be art, but it’s safe to say that a creative work that evokes a general emotional response certainly is.

Gameplay

Journey is an artistic adventure. You control a robed and scarfed character as you traverse a vast desert landscape.

The Traveler

Nor is the scarf just for show. You can use it to fly and float momentarily through the air, and the longer your scarf, the farther you can soar. There are places with similar looking cloth scraps set in the ground where you can recharge for future flights.

The game is broken up into undefined chapters and each has a scarf upgrade, which lengthens it and your flight ability. I, alas, only found one of them near the end, so I traversed the barren landscape with a woefully short scarf and very little flying ability.

While Journey is not a collaborative effort, you can still be joined by other travelers along the way.

Hello friend 🙂

Each traveler has their own symbol that appears when you “call,” and this calling is integral for progression. There are only two actions you can do in Journey: jumping/flying and calling. Calling will “awaken” certain parts of the landscape, streamers, bridges, shrines, and others that will allow you to continue on your way.

Gliding is better than walking

The goal is to reach that far mountain of light in the distance, and the closer you come to your destination, the harder the path grows. There are only a few enemies in the game. They won’t kill your character, but they will take away segments of their scarf.

They’ve also taken away segments of my well being D:

I’m unsure if you can replenish what you’ve lost, since I only had one augmentation. I did arouse the ire of one of the guardians in the snow as shown above right when I was on the edge of the area. It. Was. Terrifying. I thought I’d have to start the chapter over again, but the monster only stuns you for a moment before you can continue on. It didn’t remove the one scarf augmentation I’d found so I’m wondering if it has to be of a certain length before you lose it.

The Traveler exists in what can only be considered a desert wasteland, and all implications point to the dark truth that the entire world is like this now. There is nothing left but sand, snow, and the remnants of civilization.

And graves…many, many graves

There are also shrines containing ancient glyphs, which you must call to wake. These are scattered throughout the wasteland, and each one you awaken reveals a piece of the story.

Because Journey is up for interpretation, I can only give you what I took from it in the hopes that it will spark a lush discourse/discussion in the comments. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a comprehensive collection of all of the ancient glyphs, nor are there any YouTube videos that show them alone, so you’ll have to rely on my words and the few pictures I was able to dig up.

This first glyph confirms that the markers you see throughout the journey indeed cover graves. The entire civilization is dead, and all that remains are the headstones that guide your way.

The next glyph goes backwards in time from the first, showing what appears to be a flourishing world around five individuals dressed as the Traveler. This is the world at peace/in balance before the cataclysmic events of the fall.

This is the people building a great civilization. Growing in technology and knowledge, reaching above the rude depths of the ground. This could also show where a divide might have occurred as only two of the original five are ascending, leaving three of their brethren on the ground. It is arguably a progression, though considering what happens letter, the (early) divide assessment isn’t farfetched.

Unfortunately, these were the only good screenshots I could locate

The civilization is prosperous, but as humans do, dissension leads to war. Machines are crafted for the latter, and eventually everything is destroyed. The wasteland the Traveler traverses is all that’s left. The sand has buried both human and the majority of their works. Even the sea has turned to desert, as shown in the dark, watery looking chapter where you first meet the guardians.

There is also a “keeper” of the glyphs in some instances, a white robed figure with a stone monument that must be awoken before she appears ( I don’t know why I think of the white robed one as “she,” I just do). It is also very difficult to find a picture of her since googling “white robed one” garners you walkthroughs on how to obtain a white robe for your character.

The temples glyphs are surrounded by grave markers, too, which leads me to believe white robed keepers are buried there, and they were the keepers of the history when the civilization was still alive. The one who manifests is your spirit guide to the lost past. When you awaken these, the Traveler sits as a brief snippet of history plays out.

Eventually, the sands give way to snow, and you’re forced to traverse an icy terrain with a buffeting wind that attempts to blow you back. The only way the Traveler can push forward is by taking refuge behind the grave markers until the wind dies down, and they can move forward again. There are winged guardians in the snow, hunting for you with terrifying searchlights, but there are also the “bodies” of fallen guardians for the Traveler to hide in.

I believe the floating machines are remnants of the wars that caused civilization’s collapse, and in fact, may very well have been humanity’s quietus. They are all that remain, and all that they know is their murderous programming: seek and destroy. Even after the years it would take to bury the cities in sand, they still fulfill their appointed purpose

The world turns to whirling white as the Traveler continues on, and the wind grows ever crueler seeking to push you back. The once red robes turn white (which is foreshadowing for later) as ice, and each step becomes agony. Not even graves dot this frozen landscape to offer a gloomy haven, but the mountain of light still shines like a beacon, and the destination is ever so near. Each step taken grows harder and harder as slower and slower they come.

Then slow turns to stop and for a moment frozen, before this term becomes literal. The Traveler falls over into the drifts, and for a second all is still. The white separates into a robed figure who looks over the frozen form. All fades to white and then afterwards you’re flying up the mountainside. Regardless the length of the Traveler’s scarf it’s long and flowing far behind.

Winter no longer grips the land, which can be seen from the flowing waters and clear, blue sky. Even if your scarf runs out of energy, the Traveler can never fall. There are plenty of revival spots so that they can journey on.

The scene changes again to far gentler snow where it lays almost like a blanket. The symbols of travelers long gone before float in the air like drops of snow..

They walk towards the light between the two rocks and there’s no cruel wind to stall them now. Though it is winter, it’s gentle as spring, and the ancestors call them home.

Once in between, light just takes over, though you can see the Traveler for moments more. The shadowy form fades from gray to white until it’s indistinguishable from the light. The “journey” ends with a shooting star from the mountain. It traverses the whole of the path once taken, going in reverse until the final screen stops at the start where the journey begins and ends.

I believe as I said prior: there was a great civilization that fell into decay due to war. The machines they built for this ruinous endeavor outlasted them all, and they still stalk the landscape seeking to extinguish all life they find. This could very well have been humanity’s quietus, but either way, we know from the first glyph that everyone is dead.

The Traveler never makes it to the mountain, because that light between is not something that can be obtained in life. They die in the snow at the foot of the peak. The white robed one doesn’t come to revive you; she comes to greet the spirit that has just departed the flesh, and that spirit flies up the mountain freed from cold, fear, and earthly bonds to be with the travelers that came before and their ancestors who in death have learned and atoned for the mistakes of the past. The symbols you see floating in the air in the gentler snow prove all the journeyers (and possibly ancestors) who went before, welcoming them in. The light from the mountain is their light, and each successive traveler adds to this, making the beacon brighter for whomever will come next. It is a tale of self-imposed sacrifice with not only the benefit of paradise at the end, but also the added bonus of shining it more brilliantly so the next travelers can witness the beckon so brightly beam.

The white robed ones have made the same journey as the Traveler. They have overcome the trial of snow (which might explain the white robes), and in doing so, they’ve become the keepers of the histories to show journeyers before them the knowledge and insight that was lost in destruction.

I believe the Traveler becomes one of them after passing through the light, someone who will guide other journeyers on their way to the mountain, because only through the trials of the traverse will they be worthy to pass through. The journey is what makes you worthy of the destination.

Music

It’s beyond perfect for the game, but blends so seamlessly in it becomes just part of the journey itself. In listening to the soundtrack on its own though, the long bow strokes for the cello are chill inducing.

“I Was Born for This,” the only song with sung vocals is a must have for download.

Final Thoughts and Ratings

I finished Journey a few days ago, so it’s had some time to marinate in my brain. I personally had some issues with playing it, because rotating camera angles give me motion sickness, so I had to cut my journeying into manageable chunks. I noticed this issue years ago when the N64 came out, and I attempted to play Banjo Kazooie on it. It was the first time a video game had ever made me feel nauseated. Oddly enough I can watch games like this, but playing them causes the problem. This leads me to the one critique I have of the game. I wish you could’ve had some control over the camera, though this wasn’t really too much of a hindrance, and doesn’t take anything away from the rating.

Speaking of which, I’ve been in numerous discussions about how game ratings are starting to become obsolete, and I can’t say I disagree. Even though I’m going to give one, it’s still occurring at the end of my review where it won’t do you any good unless you purposely skipped to this point in order to find a number. I do still like to give a numerical assessment, though in reality since no game is the exact same as another, no rating is the same either even if their values match.

Thatgamecompany’s third work is a masterpiece and it receives a overall 10 from this Shameful Narcissist. The graphics are breathtaking; the game play is easy to master (there are only two action buttons); the music fits perfectly; and the narrative, while highly up for interpretation, still leads you along a particular path.

Journey is a must play for anyone who loves artistic beauty and wants to experience something divine. This is a game I would recommend to non-gamers, as well, because its lack of actual combat makes it fairly easy to get through. You can’t die or fail to complete your task so long as you keep going, no matter how difficult the terrain becomes. This could very well be the creators’ message to the players.

Yessssssssssssssssss!! Excellent post. I cannot agree more with what you said regarding video games being a form of art. They really do deserve much more credit in this department. I think people are coming around overall, but there are still some people who just don’t get it.
I’m glad you wound up enjoying this game so much despite the rocky start with motion sickness. I have had to quit playing multiple games I really wanted to explore further due to that problem. Glad that didn’t wind up being the case for you! 🙂

Yay! Such a fantastic game! I loved the ending. For me, it was an idea that you can’t go on by yourself, that any huge undertaking is going to require a little help to get there, but you need to put in the effort and not give up no matter what. Especially because you just restart the game at the end, it’s like being told that even if you “fail,” even if you need help, the journey isn’t “over,” and it never really “ended.” I don’t know if that makes sense.

I really did look at it from a life perspective. Isn’t “winter” usually a literary shorthand for the end stages of life? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Traveler doesn’t make it “out” of that level, but is rather brought to the fun, paradise-like one only after collapsing into the snow.

Also, unrelated, the peeps that the Traveler make become softer and take more effort as he/she weakens, which I thought was an interesting touch, considering the peeps can revitalize a companion’s scarf and is used to bring life to the glyphs.

It makes perfect sense! I was going to add a “beginning is the end is the beginning” part to my review, but I kept writing and erasing what I was going to say. There was a definite cyclical nature to it, and even if that Traveler’s journey was at a physical end, the shooting star they “became” at the end would light the next one’s way and so on and so on. I loved how in the end it wasn’t the destination, it was literally the journey.

I noticed that! When I was in that final snow area, I kept trying to “call” and I could barely hear anything. It’s such a well done game.

YES the title makes so much sense haha. I got a few friends who don’t usually play video games (one of whom is so very kind and would ask how “my dragon game” was going when I was playing Inquisition for the first time), and they absolutely loved it. That was one of the themes that they liked best, that it wasn’t about really “arriving” anywhere, but *getting* there that mattered.

I would so recommend Journey to people who don’t normally play video games, since it’s really just interactive art. Since you can’t die and there are only two action commands, it would be the perfect introduction to the gaming world!

That crowd who blames video games for all of societies evils seems to have settled down lately, but I know they are still out there.

This looks like such a beautiful experience! I’m not a huge fan of numbered scores, but if it gets a 10 from you, it definitely needs to be bumped up on my “To Play” list. I have to either beat Ganon or figure out why the hell a primitive Earth is overrun by robotic animals first though 🙂

It seems like they concentrate their efforts on video games, but leave out violent movies and books. I’m not going to say it’s a simple answer either, but I’m sick of games bearing the brunt of the blame.

Not only is it gorgeous, it’s a relatively short game! You could probably beat it in 3 hours. I’m thinking of playing again to see if I can pick up more scarf segments, and I also put it on my list for future let’s plays, because I could definitely see doing that.

Hm, it sounds like you need to save the world before you can take the Journey, though arguably the world’s already been destroyed in Journey, so I’m not sure what point I was trying to make there :p

Bravo! Wonderful review and loved reading every part of it! There’s so much beauty to this game, and I don’t just mean on a visual level (even though I love just staring at the game). I just love the story is shown to us as something that happened that can be interpreted. And I absolutely enjoy reading everyone’s interpretation on Journey. For people to come out of it with unique emotions and stories to tell, it’s a sign of how the game spoke to the hearts of its players. Your interpretation was wonderful and really made me think about history, society, and our roles in it. That’s a wonderful deep message to get out of a two hour game, I’d say.

My personal favorite interpretation is of the game telling the life of a person. It’s been a while since I’ve played it, so I’m sorry if I get parts of it wrong. At the beginning, you’re born into a vast world. There’s a lot to see though you can’t always access it yet. You have to learn how to activate things in the world. As you grow, or rather, as your scarf grows, you test your limits. But luckily, you’re not alone. You do meet people, though as they come and go in your life, so do they in the game. As you become an adult, you start having crises and go through some of the harsh reality of life, represented in that scary dark part with the fish(?). Then the game ends with you being frail, going up a difficult mountain trail, with all the odds against you. You are deteriorating as a person, but you keep going, hoping for something better. In the very end, you fall, and suddenly are reinvigorated literally flying to new heights, which I take to be dying and going to heaven, a soul finally free of your body. It’s the Journey of life.

I love that interpretation. I was looking at the “big picture” one, but I love this individual growth one, too. It makes sense. The world is pretty much open even though you have a set course, it’s kind of blurry and in the distance, and how they weave in the game dynamic of seeing other players into the narrative is just brilliant. Winter is usually considered the end of life, so it makes sense there that the Traveler (you) dies, and there’s a bit of a reincarnation suggestion in that the shooting star you become travels back to where it all began, showing the cycle of life (and the seasons).

I promised myself I’d hold off on looking up interpretations of the game until I wrote my own, but now I think I’m going to indulge 🙂